A Marriage of the Heart by Kelly Long

Author:Kelly Long [Long, Kelly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2012-08-31T12:00:00+00:00

With the advent of morning and the new baby in the house—in addition to a cheerful, if not tart, elder Mrs. Stolis—the feeling of Second Christmas permeated the air with warmth and goodwill. Several of the flu victims returned from their beds feeling much better and came to eat an abundant breakfast around the large wooden table. Luke Stolis arrived first and couldn’t thank Anna and Asa enough, though he’d yet to see his new son; Anna had given orders that he wait at least twenty-four hours after his symptoms had subsided.

Anna accepted a place at the table, refreshed as always by the new day, though she hadn’t slept at all. And though she didn’t study him directly, she was conscious that someone had given Asa clean clothes, because the aqua green shirt he now wore so matched his good looks. But it was only when she lifted her head to look at him across her breakfast plate that she noticed the flush on his handsome face. He returned her smile, but his cheeks were red and his dark eyes held the glazed, distant look she’d come to associate with illness in her practice. He coughed once, into his sleeve, then stared with disinterest at his plate of food.

Anna rose from the table. She had no desire to let the household know that there was another case of flu among them until she was quite sure. “Mrs. Stolis, I need to get my midwifery bag back in order, and there are some small chores that Asa might help me with. Do you have an extra room where I can lay all of my supplies out?”

“Jah, certainly. Go upstairs to the second floor and turn left. Use any of those rooms; they’re all empty. I kept the flu victims on the right wing. If you need to be long, someone can build you a fire.”

“I’ll do it. Danki.”

Anna was sure that only she noticed how abruptly Asa’s color changed to pallor when he got to his feet. And by the time they mounted the narrow, darkened back staircase, he leaned on her, and she struggled to get him over the top step and down the hallway.

She chose the first door that she came to and opened it, revealing a large room with a carved bed and pristine patchwork quilt. There was an abundance of pillows, too, she was glad to see. But it was chilly, and she hurried to help Asa to the bed, pulling the quilt and bedclothes down with one hand.

“Asa,” she whispered. “Lie down; you’ll feel better.”

“Just for a minute,” he mumbled. “I’ll make the fire first.”

“But it’s already so hot in here.” She improvised, knowing his fever would deter him until she could get the blaze going herself.

“Okay.”

She pushed him onto his back and he closed his eyes, sinking against the pillows while she tugged and tucked all the bedclothes tightly around him. He opened his eyes to stare up at her.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said, then choked on a cough.

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